Rockefeller case moves to downtown Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES - A murder trial for the man who once called himself Clark Rockefeller will be held in downtown Los Angeles, officials said Wednesday.

Rockefeller, a German national whose real name is Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, is accused in the 1985 slaying of John Sohus and suspected in the disappearance of Sohus' wife Linda. Both were residents of San Marino.

Sohus' body was discovered buried in the backyard of a home in the 1900 block of Lorain Road in San Marino in May 1994. Linda has never resurfaced.

Previous hearings in the case have been held in the Alhambra Superior Courthouse. Attorneys had hoped to move the case to Pasadena or Burbank, but weren't successful because a Pasadena judge is a witness for the prosecution.

A hearing to determine which judge tries the case will be held in Department 100 Friday.

Gerhartsreiter, 50, is "very much looking forward to his day in court," defense attorney Brad Bailey said in an email.